


Dilemma

by conceptstage



Series: Single Chapter Critical Role [64]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-08
Updated: 2019-03-08
Packaged: 2019-11-13 18:40:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18036740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/conceptstage/pseuds/conceptstage
Summary: Beau takes Dairon's warning to heart.





	Dilemma

Beau doesn’t even say goodnight at first. She lets Jester heal her wounds from training and does her stretches and her sit ups and then rolls over and seemingly falls asleep. Jester looks concerned and she and Caleb exchange a glance. He nods comfortingly.

“She’s fine,” he said quietly. “She  _ will  _ be fine.”

Jester frowned. “I love you, Beau,” she called, twisting her fingers nervously.

“Night, Jester,” the monk said, closing her eyes.

Jester sniffled but laid down. It took several minutes but everyone eventually fell asleep, leaving only Caleb sitting up and gently petting the cat in his lap. “Beauregard,” he said quietly. “Can I speak to you please?”

He stood up and stepped out of the campsite, over the alert string. He hovered a few yards away for less than a minute before Beau wandered up to him, her hands in her pockets and her lips pursed. “What?” she asked, not looking him in the eye.

“What are you doing?”

“Talking to you, the fuck it look like?”

He sighed and rolled his eyes. “To Jester. What are you doing to Jester. You wouldn’t even tell her you loved her tonight.”

“I don’t love her.” The frown on her face was wholly unconvincing. “I don’t care about any of you.”

“You don’t believe that.”

“You’d be surprised the things I can convince myself of. I once convinced myself I could fly and jumped off the roof.”

“That was stupid.”

“Yeah.” They stared at each other in silence for a moment before Beau rolled her eyes. “What do you want, man?”

“I want to know why you’re trying to pull away.”

“Oh, that is rich coming from you. You’ve been holding everyone at arm’s reach since the day we met.”

“ _ Ja _ , but you are not me. You are better than that. You care about people so completely, so deeply.”

“Yeah, well, maybe that’s my problem.”

“It is my favorite thing about you.”

She frowned and crossed her arms, not looking at him directly in the eye. “Really?”

“Of course. When someone earns your affections you protect them with a ferocity that I am jealous of. Is this because of what Dairon said?”

She shifted awkwardly and cleared her throat. “Maybe. I just- maybe she had a point. I’ve told you guys before that I would die for any one of you if you needed me to. Maybe that’s not the best attitude to have. She told me to not die, right?”

“Why do you care what she thinks?”

Beau frowned. “She’s the only person who ever took an interest in me. She’s the only person who ever thought I could be more than just a jackass who could punch good.”

“That’s not true.”

Beau raised an eyebrow at him and snorted, mirthlessly. “I don’t see anyone else taking that kind of chance on me, do you?”

“Yes. Us.”

Beau frowned in shock and crossed her arms. She didn’t speak for a few minutes and finally cleared her throat. “Whatever. I’m tired.” She hurried back to the campsite, leaving him there alone. He sighed but followed her.

As Beau was laying down in her little area, Jester groaned tiredly and rolled over to look at her. “Are you alright? Beau?”

Beau hesitated but nodded. “Yeah. Bathroom trip. Go back to sleep.” Jester yawned but nodded and closed her eyes again. “Hey, Jes… I love you.”

Jester smiled tiredly and mumbled. “Love too…”

Beau smiled slightly and caught Caleb’s eye. She dropped the smile and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, alright, you were right. Shut up.”


End file.
